Sliding door lock



April 1, 1958 J. H. sPENcE Erm. l 2,828,995

SLIDING DooR Loox Filed Oct.l 8, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 c e'0000's:@00000003z 'nl Il: lll,

. v Z'r`wen'lors Jhn H Spence -William R.Shaver I By J. H. sPENcE ETAL' 2,828,995

SLIDINGnooR LOCK April 1, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed oct. 8, 1954 Inv en ors John Hpence (fr WillamR Shaver Of ./liorrzey I piri i, i955 J. H. SPENE E'rAL 2,828,995

SLIDING DOOR LOCK Filed oct. e, 1.954. s sheets-sheet s Invenhvnffs` John H Spence William Ii'.y Shqver United States Patent SLIDING DOR LOCK John H. Spence, Chicagoylll., and William R. Shaver, Highland, Ind., assignors to Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago, lll., va corporation of Delaware Application October 8,1954, Serial No. 461,091

3 Claims. (Cl. 292-285) This invention relates to locks for the sliding doors-of freight vehicles and is primarily concerned withga` lock for a-sliding door on the side wall of'a railway box car.

An object of the invention is to provide `a cam type lock for the sliding doors of freight vehicles in which means are provided to prevent movement of the vcam out of the lock housing while the vehicle is in transit.

An important object of the invention is to provide'in a lock for the sliding doors of freight vehicles a novel arrangement of seal plates on the lock housing and the hasp so that the openings through which the seal extends'will always be in alignment. y

A further object of the invention is to provide means for a cam type freight vehicle sliding vdoor lockto prevent drawing the lock too tight and to serve as a place to 'engage a tool to move the cam out of thelock housing.

A further yobject of the invention is to provide a'n'ov'el stiffener plate for a freight vehicle sliding 'door lock `to effectively distribute loads between the door 'panel and the door structural members.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained by the construction and arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a side wall of a railway box car showing the door and the lock;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational viewfof Athe lock and adjacent portions 'of the side wall and door;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lock taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view ofthelock, with the adjacent portion of the side wall being shown in section;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5A Aof Fig. 2;

Fig, 6 is a side elevational view of the lock similar to Eig'. 2 but showing the door partly open and the. lock parts in their disengaged positions; and

Fig, 7 is atop plan View of the lock housing.

The sliding doors on the side walls of railway boxcars maybe pushed the greater part of the distance over the door opening'by the operator, afterwhich the door cannot be pushed any farther due to friction between the door and the car. The door has a door closer thereon which may be manipulatedby the operator tol pull the door almost fully Closed. However, there remains a slight opening between the front edge of the/door and the vfront stop. A lock is used to pull the door to fully closed `position and to keep the door closed while the car is in transit. The present invention proposes an improved lock of this type which is applicable to railway cars and other freight vehicles. The lock is comprised of a housing secured to the wall of the vehicle and' provided with an opening facing toward the door opening and a cutout in 'communication with the opening. A vertically disposed Cam is swingably mounted in the housing for movement about a horizontal axis and one edge of the cam has an angular surface. A pin is secured to the door. A hasp is comprised of a first section and a second section Aand `the ICC Asecond section is arranged at an angle with andsecured to the first section and the second section has `an opening therein'to receive the pin. The hasp has a surface thereon corresponding kto the angular surface' on the cam. To close the door, the operatorplaces 'the free end of 'the hasp in the opening in thehousing and the surface on the cam in engagement'with the surface lon the haspand drives the cam into the cutout in the housing. Driving of the cam causes the free end of the `hasp to move further into the opening in the housing and causes the door 'to be'move'd inwardly of the vehicle against the wall thereof to form a ,seal and the hasp is urged against awall of the opening and the cam is urged against a Wall of the cutout toprevent movement of thecam out of theicutoutwhilel the vehicle'is in transit.

In the drawings, lllgenerally designates a side wall'for a freight vehicle which is illustrated and described asl a side wall for 'a railway box car. The side wall 10 is comprised of a side sill, a side sill reinforcement vsecuredto the side sill, side sheathing 11 securedto the side'sill, and aside plate secured to the side sheathing. The side wall'l' is provided with a door opening 12 and a door post 13 extending full height of the door opening 12 and a front door stop 14 positioned at the front edge of the door opening and extending full height of the door opening. A track is secured to the side sill lreinforcement and atop retainer is secured to the side plate'. A door 1S has wheels which roll upon the track andthe upperedge ofthe door is engaged under the top retainer. Thus the door'15; is slidable longitudinally of the sidewall 10 to cover `and uncover the door opening '12. A front edging member 16 extending the full height ofthe door is secured to the front edge of the door 15 and has arearwardly'extending ang'e 1.7 parallel to and spaced outwardly from the door. A horizontally disposed stilfener 18 is secured to the door adjacent and spaced above the'lower edge of the door 15 with one end thereof extending behind the ange 17 of the member 16. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the front stop 14 is of a cross section providing a vertical rearwardly opening channel or'pocket spaced outwardly lof lthe wall 10, for receiving the front edging member 15 upon closing of the door. i

A llock generally designated v19 is mounted partly yon the door 15 at the front edge thereof and partly on the adjacent portion of the side wall`10. A lock'housing' 20 is positioned against the side wall 10 and againstthe forward wall portion of the rearwardly directed "pocket21 of the front door stop 14 and a pair ofrivets A22 extend through attaching ears of the housing and throughf" the side sheathing 11, the front door stop; andthe `door post 13. A reinforcing plate 23 'is'disp'osed against the inner face of the side sheathing "11, and a'pair .of rivets 24 extend through the inner wall of 'housing' 2l), -thesid'e sheathing 11, andthe plate. The pairs'fof 'rivets 22and 24 secure the housing 20 to the'side wall' 10. The housing 20, as best shown in Fig. 7, is provided with arearwardly opening pocket 25 at its outer forward 'portion defined by a bottom wall 26, a side wall 27, a top wall 28,1and a front wall 29, all of the walls being integral with the housing. The housing 20 is provided with a cutout 30 extending inwardly from its outer face immediatelyrearward of the pocket 25. The housingthas a pair of laterally spaced vertical jaws 31 rearwardly kofthe cutout, and a horizontally disposed `pivot pin 32 extends-through and is ixedly secured to the jaws, the rear end of which engage the forward wall portion of the front stop pocket 21. A vertically disposed cam 33 is positioned inthe cutout 30 in the housing 20 and is swingably mounted lon the pivot pin 32. The cam has its inner face adjacent but spaced from the side wall 10 and the edge ofthe cam is cut away from the inner face thereof rearwardly 3 ndoutwardly to the outer face thereof at an angle or bevel as indicated at 34. A stiener plate is disposed against the stiener 18 on the door 15 and has one portion 35 parallel to the door `and disposed between the tange 17 on the edging member 16 and the door and welded to the flange, and another portion 36 integral with the portion 35 and extending at au angle therefrom f A latch or hasp is made up of a section 38` corresponding to the beveled surface 34 on the edge of the cam 33, and the section 39 is provided with an opening or slot 41 extending longitudinally of the hasp and the axis a of the slot is at right angles with the general longitudinal axis b of the section 38 and the pin 37 is disposed in the slot. A washer is welded on the outer end of the pin 37 to prevent the hasp from becoming separated from the pin. The general longitudinal axis b of the section 38 of the hasp is parallel to the side wall 10 when the hasp is in the position shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive. A plate 42 is provided with a hole 43 and a slot 44 and the plate is positioned in a plane parallel to a plane through the side wall 10 and is integral with and depends from the outer jaw 31 of the housing 20. A

plate 45 is provided with a hole 43' and a slot 44 and the 38 of the hasp and has one edge integrally secured to one side edge of the hasp. The plate 45 is spaced a. certain vdistance from the remote end of the slot 41 so that the lholes 43 in plates 42 and 45 will be in alignment and the slots 44 will similarly be in alignment when the door 15 is brought to fully closed position.

A part 46 having a pair of notches is pivotally mounted on the side wall 10 and a lever 47 is pivotally mounted Aplate is positioned inthe same general plane as the section on the door 15. To close the door `15, the operator pushes the door the greater part of the way over the door opening 12. Due to friction it is rather ditiicult to push the door 15 any farther. The operator then grasps the lever 47 and engages it in one of the notches in the part 46 and pulls the door toward closed position until t the member 16 is a very short distance from the bottom .of the pocket 21 on the front door stop 14. The operator then places the free end of the hasp in the pocket 25 of the housing 20 and places the edge 34 of the cam 33 in engagement with the surface of the hasp and then the operator takes a suitable tool and drives the cam -downwardly into the cutout 30 in the housing until the lip 48 'on the cam engages the hasp. The downward movement of the cam 33 causes the free end of the hasp to move further into the pocket 25 and thus causes the door 15 to be drawn into fully closed position so that the member 16 is in contact with the bottom of the pocket 21 in the front door stop 14 as shown at 49.

Due to the hasp exerting a force on the outer end of the pin 37, upon movement of the hasp into the pocket 25 in the housing 20, a force couple is formed which tends to rotate the front edge of the door 15 inwardly of the car and results in the door front edge member 16 being urged against the front stop 14 as at 50 to form a seal against the entrance of smoke, dust, rain and other foreign matter. This force couple is opposed by another force couple acting on the door in the opposite direction. The farther the hasp is from the door 15 on the pin 37, the greater will be the first-named force couple. Due to the particular angle of the surfaces 34 and 40 on the cam 33 andthe hasp respectively, movement of the hasp into the pocket 25 in the housing 20 causes the hasp to be urged against the side wall 27 of the pocket 25 and the cam is urged against a wall 51 of the cutout 30 to prevent upward movement of the cam. After the door 15 is fully closed, the operator inserts a padlock through the holes 43 in plates 42 and 45 and inserts` a seal 52 through the slots 44 in the plates, the holes and slots respectively being brought into substantial registration in the final position of the hasp.

While the car is in transit, the door 15 may be iolted toward closed position. If there is any play between the cam 33 and the hasp, the cam will fall by gravity and take up that play. In case the operator forgets to drive the cam 33 into the `cutout 30 in the housing 20 and also forgets to insert a seal 52 and a padlock in the lock upon closing the door 15, the hasp cannot be jerked out of the pocket 25 in the housing due to jolting of the door toward open position, for the following reasons: The hasp cannot move downwardly because of the bottom wall 26 of the pocket 25 in the housing 20 and the hasp cannot move outwardly because of the side wall 27 of the pocket and the hasp cannot move upwardly because of the top wall 28 of the pocket. The hasp cannot move backwardly out of the pocket 25 in the housing 20 because a shoulder 53 on the hasp engages the stop or outer jaw 31 of the housing. Thus, remarkable as it may seem, the door 15 will not come open while the car is in transit even though the operator places only the hasp in the pocket 25 of the housing 20 and forgets to engage the cam 33 in the housing 20 and does not use a seal 52 or a padlock. It would require a remarkable jolt of the car to remove the hasp from the pocket 25 in the housing 20, since the hasp must first be slid backwardly on the pin 37 untilthe end of the slot 41 is reached. Then the hasp must be raised until it touches the cam 33 which is out of the cutout 30 in the housing 20 and touching or nearly `touching the front door stop 14. Then the hasp must be moved outwardly from the side wall 10. These three distinct movements of the hasp are required before the hasp can move out of the pocket 25 of the housing 20 into the position shown in Fig. 6. Thus it is practically impossible to move the hasp out of the pocket 25 in the housing 20 through iolting of the door 15 while the car is in transit. The incline 54 on the hasp comes into contact withthe edge 55 of the front door stop 14 at the same time that the shoulder 53 comes into contact with the stop or outer jaw 31 to serve as an additional means to prevent backward movement of the hasp out of the pocket 25 in the housing 20.

To open the door 15, the operator breaks the seal 52 and removes the padlock and with a suitable tool strikes the lip 48 on the cam 33 to move the cam upwardly out of the cutout 30 in the housing 20. The operator then moves the hasp backwardly out of the pocket 25 in the housing 20 and then upwardly against the cam 33 and then outwardly from the side wall 10 and lets the hasp and the cam 33 swing downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 6. The cam 33 rests Aon a ledge 56 in the housing 20 in this position. The operator then lifts the safety latch 57 of the door to clear its keeper 58 on the track and engages the lever 47 in the other of the notches in the part 46 and swings the lever counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 1, causing the door 15 to open a substantial part of the distance across the door opening 12. The operator then pushes the door 15 the rest of the distance until the door opening 12 is fully exposed.

Driving ofthe cam 33 into the cutout 30 in the housing 20 causes the hasp to pull on the pin 37 resulting in a force couple which causes the door 15 to be moved inwardly toward the longitudinal. center line of the car and against the side wall 10. Thus the door front edge member 16 is forced tightly against the side of the pocket 21 in the front door stop 14 to form a seal. The door front edge member 16 bears against the bottom 0f the. pocket 21 ofthe front door stop 14 as at 49 to give a line contact and the door front edge member bears against the side of the pocket to give a surface contact as at '50. Thus the door front edge member 16 is in contact with the front door stop 14 at two places to form seals against the entrance of weather and foreign matter.

In transit the sliding door of a box car is subjected to many jolts toward opening position. In the past, this jolting of the door caused the hasp to be continually striking the cam and caused the cam to be moved upwardly and out of the lock housing. The hasp would then jump upwardly and/move backwardly to break the seal between the hasp and the lock housing and then the hasp would drop to a position alongside the door. Then the door would begin to open, letting in foreign matter and causing loss of lading. Thus, obviously, an open door on a box car in transit is highly unsatisfactory condition. The angular or beveled surfaces on the cam and hasp in applicants lock cause the hasp to be wedged against a wall of the pocket in the housing and cause the cam to be wedged against a wall of the cutout in the housing. Thus,

upward movement of the cam out of the cutout in the, housing while the car is in transit is prevented. When the bending stress in the hasp becomes great after its free end is disposed in the pocket in the housing, the hasp will bear against the outer jaw of the housing and thus the outer jaw will prevent bending of the hasp inwardly toward the side wall of the car.

On locks presently in use,the plates on the housing and hasp are normal tothe side wall of the car and the slots for the seal are on a vertical axis, and upon driving the,

cam into the housing the slots move out of alignment with each other. With the plates on the housing and hasp'generally parallel to the rside wall of the car and the slots being on a horizontal axis and the holes being on-a horizontal axis, the holes will always'be in alignment and the slots will always be in alignment so that the padlock may be passed through theholes and the seal passed through the slots after driving the cam into the housing and preventing any possibility of breakingr the seal while the car is in transit. Since the plates do not protrude out from the lock, they are less susceptible to damage than the plates on locks presently in use. lock housing is a continuation of the outer jaw on the housing, the casting for the housing is easy to make.

The lip on the cam engages the hasp to prevent the operator from driving the `cam too far into the cutout in the housing. The lip further serves as a place to engage a suitable tool to pry or vhammer the cam upward out of the cutout in the housing. The cam protrudes below the hasp as shown in Fig. 2, so that the cam may be hit upward with the tool to move the cam out of the cutout in the housing. Thus the operator may engage the tool againstthe lip or against the protruding portion of the cam to move the cam upward out of the housing.

The stitfener plate effectively distributes loads between the door panel and the front door edge member 16 and the door stilfener 18, thereby reducing local deformation due to high impact loads.- Applicants lock can be applied to both new and existing cars.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there has been provided a freight vehicle sliding door lock which prevents movement of the cam out ofthe lock housing while the vehicle is in transit and has a novel arrangement'of seal plates so that the openings through which the seal extends Will always be in alignment.

What is claimed is:

l. In a freight vehicle having a wall member provided with an opening and a door member slidably mounted on the wall member to cover and uncover the opening, a housing secured to one of the members and provided with a cutout, attaching means secured to the other mem-' ber, a vertically disposed. cam positioned in the cutout and pivotally mounted in the housing for movement about a horizontal axis and vhaving one face adjacent said one of the members, an edge of the cam being cut away at Since the plate on thev t on the wall member to cover and uncover the opening,y

an angle from said one face to the other face thereof to provide a beveled cam surface, and a hasp swingably mounted on the attaching means and having an angular surface corresponding to the angle of the beveled surface of the cam, the free end of the hasp being movably supported by the housing, and the beveled surface on the cam being operatively engaged with the angled surface on the hasp whereby movement of the cam into the cutout causes the opening to be fully covered and the hasp to be urged against one surface of the housing and the cam against another surface thereof to provide positive frictional resistance to movement of the cam out of the cutout.

2. In a freight vehicle having a wall member provided with an opening and a door member slidably mounted on the wall member to cover and uncover the opening, a housing secured to one of the members and provided with a cutout, attaching means secured to the other member, a'vertically disposed vcam positioned in the cutout and pivotally mounted in the housing for movement about a horizontal axis and having one face adjacent said one of the members, an edge of the cam being cut away at an angle from said one face to the other face thereof to provide a beveled cam surface, said cam having a lip, and a hasp swingably mounted on the attaching means and having an angular surface corresponding to the angle of the beveled surface of the cam, the free end of the hasp being movably supported by the housing, and the beveled surface on the cam being operatively engaged with the angled surface on the hasp whereby movement of the cam into the cutout causes the opening to be fully covered land the hasp to be urged against one surface of the housf ing and the cam against another surface thereof to pro` vide positive frictional resistance to movement of the cam out of the cutout, said lip being adapted to engage the hasp to limit downward movement of the cam and to provide means whereby the cam may be moved upwardly out of the cutout.

3. In a freight vehicle having a wall member provided with a door opening and a door member slidably mounted a housing secured to one of the members having a bottom wall, a side wall and a top wall forming an opening, a cutoutV in the housing, a vertically disposed element positioned in the cutout and having one face adjacent said one of the members, an edge of the element being cut away at an angle from said one'face to the other face thereof to provide a beveled wedging surface, attaching means secured to the other member, and a hasp mounted on the attaching means and having an angular surface corresponding to the angle of the beveled surface of said element, said hasp having a free end disposed in the open ing in the housing, said bottom, side and top walls conlining the hasp against downward, outward and upward movements, said element being adapted to be moved into the cutout and the beveled surface thereof being operatively engaged with said angular surface on the hasp whereby movement ofthe element into the cutout causes the door opening to be fully covered, the hasp being wedged against one surface of the housing and the element wedged against another surface thereof to provide positive frictional resistance to movement of the element out of the cutout. i

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Oleksiw Oct. 19, 1943 

